Boeing HorizonX

F/A-18 Super Hornet

Boeing has developed the Block III Super Hornet to complement existing and future air wing capabilities. The upgrades have evolved to complement other U.S. Navy aircraft to effectively operate together in the air wing for decades to come.

Built for Air Superiority

The F/A-18 Block III Super Hornet is the newest highly capable, affordable and available tactical aircraft in U.S. Navy inventory. The Super Hornet is the backbone of the U.S. Navy carrier air wing now and for decades to come.

The combat-proven Super Hornet delivers cutting-edge, next-generation multi-role strike fighter capability, outdistancing current and emerging threats well into the future. The Super Hornet has the capability, flexibility and performance necessary to modernize the air or naval aviation forces of any country. Two versions of the Super Hornet – the single-seat E model and the two-seat F model – are able to perform virtually every mission in the tactical spectrum, including air superiority, day/night strike with precision-guided weapons, fighter escort, close air support, suppression of enemy air defenses, maritime strike, reconnaissance, forward air control and tanker missions.

F/A-18 Super Hornet Customers

The first operational F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet squadron formed in June 2001 and deployed into combat aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in July 2002. In April 2005, Boeing delivered the first Block II Super Hornet, complete with the world’s first tactical multi-mode AESA radar, and it became fully operational at the end of 2007.

Australia

United States

Super Hornet Quick Facts

Every Super Hornet has been delivered on cost and on schedule.

The Super Hornet is the most cost-effective aircraft in the U.S. tactical aviation fleet, costing less per flight hour than any other tactical aircraft in U.S. forces inventory.

In August 2013, Boeing and Northrop Grumman conducted flight tests with a prototype of an Advanced Super Hornet with conformal fuel tanks, an enclosed weapons pod and signature enhancements. The successful flights proved the Super Hornet can outpace threats through 2040.

The first successful flight of the Infrared Search and Track sensor system was in Feb. 2014, and the U.S. Navy approved IRST for low-rate initial production in Jan. 2015.

As part of the FY18 budget was a requirement for 80 Super Hornets over the next five years as part of the Future Years Defense Program, including funding for Research Development, Test & Evaluation for Block III capabilities. The U.S. Navy added an additional 10 Super Hornets into the FY18 budget as its No. 1 unfunded priority.